It’s time for the next tutorial in the series on file management for your mobile devices. Last time I shared how to easily transfer files between mobile devices, like an iPhone and iPad. Today I’ll talk about getting images off of your device and on to your computer, as well as how to do a bulk delete of files on your device.

First off, let’s talk about WHY you want to transfer your image files to your computer…

It’s easy to think of our mobile devices as small computers, and as such they can be our photo archive, but they aren’t. A mobile device can be easily lost or damaged beyond operation, and if you haven’t backed it up recently, everything you have is lost. Automatic online backup and storage services for mobile devices give you limited storage before you have to pay, and it can get expensive if you are generating a lot of image files.

Along with the loss/damage factor, mobile devices have limited data storage. Even as technology progresses and available storage on devices gets larger and cheaper, the file management tools are not great. Have you ever tried to find a specific image if you have thousands on your Camera Roll? Yeah, it’s very difficult. I’ve found that having thousands of images on your Camera Roll can cause apps to bog down and crash. It’s better to keep a limited number of images on your Camera Roll, and clean it off periodically.

A laptop or desktop computer has more tools for file management, archival and backup. My computer is where my permanent archive of image files resides, regardless of the device I used, dSLR, iPhone or iPad, to create the photo. I just need to get the files from the devices to the computer periodically, and then delete them from the device.

Direct Transfer between Device and Computer

Did you know, if you connect your iPhone or other mobile device into your computer, it shows up as an external drive? That makes it very easy to access the DCIM folders where images are located, and then copy them over to your computer.

1. Connect your device to the computer via USB.

2. Allow iTunes to complete its sync and backup routine if you have that set up to happen automatically when you connect your device. Once iTunes has completed the sync, eject the device from iTunes. DO NOT CONTINUE until you’ve ejected the device in iTunes or your device can hang up later in the process.

3. Navigate to the device folders and copy your photos. This is a little different depending on whether you are using a Windows PC or Mac.

For Windows, in an Explorer window, scroll down to find Computer on the left navigation bar. Find your device in the list below Computer, and then navigate the the DCIM folders.

On Apple devices, the folders containing images files are cryptically named, one level below DCIM. Since the folder names are not very helpful for finding the files of interest, you will need to open the folders to see what images are in each of them. Once you find the image you want to copy, select it by clicking on it. To select all in a folder, use Ctrl-A. Once you have your images selected, you can right click and select “Copy,” then navigate to the folder you want to copy them to, right click and select “Paste.” You can also drag and drop the selected files to the folder on your computer.

All of the images will be copied to the new folder. Repeat this for all folders, until all of the images on the device have been copied to the computer. Note, you will not be able to MOVE files from an Apple device to a folder on your computer, only copy.

On a Mac, go to your Applications folder and open Image Capture app. In the devices column on the left, you will see your device. Select the files here to import.

Importing into Lightroom from Device

If you are using Lightroom or another photo organization software for your photo file management on your computer, then you can import photographs directly from your device into the software. This is how I typically copy files over from my device.

Similar to the procedure above, connect your device to the computer via USB and allow iTunes to complete backup and sync, then eject it before continuing.

In the Lightroom Import dialog box, select your device as the Source. Lightroom will identify the new photos on the device, and then you can select where you want them to import in your catalog structure and change any other settings. Once you have finished your selections, click Import.

The files will be imported into your catalog. Note that you can only copy the files from the device, you can’t move or delete them from the device along with import.

I’ve found that Lightroom will not import PNG files or videos, so you will have to copy those types of files to your hard drive using the direct method above.

After I get my images into Lightroom, I flag the final image files and add the titles as keywords so I can quickly find them later. Since I do all of my printing from Lightroom, I also created virtual copies which are adjusted for printing.

Deleting Image Files from your Device

Once you have your image files transferred to your computer hard drive (which has an automatic back up in place, right?), you can delete them from your device.

On Apple devices there is no quick and easy way to do a bulk delete of images from your Camera Roll. All of the methods involve selecting each image and then deleting, which is not an efficient method when you might have hundreds or thousands of image files to delete.

You can use the direct connection to the computer for a bulk delete as well. The same way you navigate to the directories to select and copy files to the computer, you can select and delete files from the device.

On Windows, to do a bulk delete, navigate to the folder under DCIM which has the old files you want to delete. Ctrl-A to select all, then right click and select Delete.

If you get an error that the device is disconnected or a file type cannot be deleted, you may have a file in the folder that the device will not allow Windows to delete. If that happens, unselect file types that are not image files, and then try again to delete.

On a Mac, go to your Applications folder and open Image Capture app. In the devices column on the left, you will see your device. Select the files here individually or using Cmd-A to select all, and then Delete.

Note, you will not be able to delete the folders below DCIM once they are cleared out. These are managed by your device. The next time you connect your device to the computer, you will see empty folders have been removed.

Regular Maintenance

Now you know how to quickly move your image files to a computer for long-term archive and backup, and clean up your Camera Roll by doing a bulk delete.

You’ll want to figure out a regular maintenance schedule for doing this. I copy the image files off of my devices to my computer at least once or twice per month, sometimes more depending on what I have going on, and delete images off of my Camera Roll every couple of months. This keeps things working well on my device, I can find and print the files I want, and I know they are safely archived and backed up.

You might notice that when you delete images off of your Camera Roll, they disappear from your albums too. What do you do if you want some image files permanently on your device, for things like sharing your portfolio or textures you commonly use for editing? I’ll share how to create permanent folders on your device in the next File Management Mobile Tutorial. Stay tuned!

It’s spring here in Oregon, so it’s time for some spring cleaning. And who doesn’t need to do a little cleaning in the photo library on their device? So today I’m going to kick off the first in a series of Mobile Tutorials on Image File Management, starting with transferring image files between devices.

If you are like me, you might find the iPhone screen is a bit small for editing. I remember a specific moment in my early days of mobile photography… I had posted an image online which looked good to me on the small screen (an iPod Touch at the time), but when I saw it later on a large computer screen, I was horrified. It looked awful! I had missed some subtleties in the edit since I was looking at a small screen. Within days of that experience, I went out and purchased an iPad, knowing it would make a huge difference in my photo editing to have a larger screen. The larger screen means I can better see what’s happening with the whole image, as well as the details, as I make changes. I also have more workspace for edits which require fine control, like masking.

But more than a big screen, more than one device means big complexities with file management. When you have more than one device in your workflow, how do you quickly and easily get my photos from one device to the other? How do you keep from duplicating files on multiple devices, to the point you can’t even find the ones you want to edit?

Over time, I’ve developed a few requirements for my file transfer:

I only want to transfer the files I intend to edit. If you take multiple photos of subject with your iPhone, exploring small adjustments in composition, exposure or focus, then it’s nearly impossible to tell from looking at the Camera Roll thumbnails which image is the best. In the past, I’ve resorted to counting the tiny thumbnails from a reference photo in order to find the one I want, which is a method fraught with potential errors. I want to take the “noise” of having many images on the iPhone and simplify things on the iPad by selecting the photos I want to edit before transfer.

I want to view the image on the larger iPad screen before I transfer the files. Since the iPhone screen is small, even with my wonderful reading glasses I can’t see as much detail as I can on the iPad. That means that if there are subtle differences in focus between one image and the next I might miss them on the iPhone. Viewing the image on the iPad before transfer allows me to look at several image options and then transfer the best one.

I need a solution that works with and without WiFi. My iPad is WiFi only, so I don’t have the option of a cellular data connection. I might want to transfer files between iPhone and iPad when a WiFi connection isn’t available, so I’d better have a solution for that situation.

I tried all sorts of things in my early days learning iPhone photography, from iCloud to Photo Transfer Apps. After a while, I settled on two procedures for transfer, one for when a Cloud connection is available, and one for when it’s not. I’ll walk you through both and then tell you why I don’t like the other options I’ve tried.

Transfer with a Cloud Connection

When I have Cloud connection, I use Dropbox as my means of transfer. With a Dropbox account and the app on both devices, I can upload all of the images from my iPhone to Dropbox and then review and download only the best ones from my iPad. Here’s how to do it…

1. You will need the Dropbox app on both devices and a Dropbox account. (If you don’t have a Dropbox account, sign up here. Using this link will give us both more storage!) Install the app and log in to your account on each device.

2. On your iPhone, set Dropbox to Auto Camera Upload. You do this by tapping the Settings icon, and then tapping Camera Upload to access the Menu.

Once you are in the Camera Upload menu, turn the Camera Upload switch to “ON”, switch Use Cellular Data to “OFF” (unless you want to use your cell data for photo uploading – not recommended if you have a limited data plan), and switch Background Uploading to “ON.”

Now, everytime you connect to WiFi, your most recent photos will transfer from your iPhone into Dropbox. Handy, huh?

3. On your iPad, you DO NOT want Auto Camera Upload. Be sure Camera Upload is turned “OFF” in the Dropbox app on the iPad. Dropbox will prompt you to turn it on, but don’t enable this feature on the iPad.

4. When you are ready to review your photos, open Dropbox on the iPad. Tap the Photos icon at the bottom of the sidebar to see the most recent photos by date. You can scroll through to see any image larger on the right side of the screen. Note: You are not seeing the full image in this view, because the top and bottom menu bar overlap part of the image.

To see the full image as large as you can, tap the preview on the right and the rest of the Dropbox window will disappear and the image will enlarge. You can swipe left or right to scroll through the images in full screen mode, where you can see all of the details. When you identify an image you want to edit, tap the image again. This will take you back to the Dropbox window.

From here, tap the Export icon on the top menu bar and then select Save Image to save to Camera Roll. Voila! You are done. You have reviewed the images full screen, and then transferred only the specific image you want to edit to the iPad. Now you can proceed with the editing process on the iPad.

Whenever I’ve taken new photos on my iPhone, I spend a few minutes when I am next on my iPad to review and download images through Dropbox. Then, whenever I pick up my iPad to edit, I start with the photos I’ve already selected on the Camera Roll. It saves me a lot of time and hassle since I don’t have to revisit a bunch of photos on my Camera Roll to find the best one every time.

Troubleshooting Dropbox:

If it doesn’t seem to be auto uploading from the iPhone, open the Dropbox app and check your settings to make sure Camera Upload is turned on.

If you have a lot of photos to upload, you might need to occasionally open Dropbox and tap on the app while it’s uploading since it will time out.

If you have a lot of images on your Camera Roll, you might want to pare down the number of images on your device before you turn on Auto Camera Upload or you could fill up the free space included with the Dropbox account. (The next mobile tutorial will cover transferring files to the computer and deleting from your device, so hang tight.)

If your Dropbox account runs out of space, you can either purchase more space or delete the files in Dropbox you no longer need. Since this is only temporary storage for me, I never purchase space.

You can use this method for transferring files as long as you have a connection to the Cloud, either through WiFi or a cellular data connection, and between any type of device. Dropbox makes apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, both Windows and Mac computers, and can be accessed from a web browser. With all of those options, it should work for whatever devices you operate!

Transfer without Cloud Connection

When I don’t have a cloud connection, I use Apple’s AirDrop feature, which will work between most iOS devices.

1. Make sure WiFi, Bluetooth and AirDrop are turned on for all devices. You can do this quickly and easily by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to get to the Quick Access menu, and then tapping the icons. For AirDrop, when you tap you will get a popup menu with options. I always set AirDrop to “Everyone” to make things easy.

2. On the iPhone, go to the Camera Roll. Tap an image to view, and then swipe left and right to scroll through your image options. When you find one you want to transfer, tap the Export icon to bring up the Export menu. You can select multiple images to transfer as well.

3. When you are ready to transfer, make sure your other device is turned on and unlocked, or AirDrop won’t find the device. Tap the AirDrop icon to search for nearby devices.

4. When your device shows up in the AirDrop options, tap the icon to transfer the selected file(s). Watch the screen of the receiving device, and you’ll see a window with the status of the transfer.

The upside with this method is that you can quickly and easily transfer files between devices, in either direction. The downside with this method is that you can’t view on the large iPad screen before transferring, but at least you can view it full screen on the iPhone. If I’m not sure which of a few images is the best on the iPhone, I’ll transfer them all to the iPad and then delete the ones that don’t work out.

Since most of the time I have WiFi, I don’t use this method often, but I like to have it available.

Why not iCloud or a Photo Transfer App?

As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, when I first added the iPad to my workflow I tried many different options for file transfer between devices before settling on these methods. I’ll share what I didn’t like about the other options I tried. I last used these options ~two years ago and the features may have changed since then, so take my comments here with a grain of salt.

Apple’s iCloud/Photo Stream

There were a few issues I ran into with this service that led me to give it up entirely:

When Photo Stream is turned “On” for a device, it automatically uploads and downloads the images in the Photo Stream to your device. All new images from all devices are mixed up into one “Photo Stream,” essentially a combined folder in the Cloud. Each file gets a new sequential image name and date/time, based on when it was added to the Photo Stream, so I lose traceability to the real date/time an image was created. As a linear thinker, that matters to me. I like to keep my image sources (iPhone or iPad) separate and sequential within themselves, not all jumbled together in one place.

Photo Stream was limited to 1000 photos. As you get beyond 1000, and remember that is total across all devices, you just lose the older ones out of the Photo Stream and you are back to transferring manually if you want an older image. You can probably pay for more storage, but since I just want to transfer not to archive, I have no interest in paying.

Images were resized, without your knowledge or ability to change the settings, depending on the device you were viewing the image on. So if I took a square image on my iPhone, which would be 2448×2448 pixels, it would be available on my iPad with only 2048×2048 pixels. I have no idea why they would do this, but after finding this out, it was a deal breaker for me. I work really hard to manage my file size and resolution as I edit files, I don’t want my file transfer service to change things without my knowledge!

Even if these settings changed since I last use it, the fact that there was so little control or notification about the settings makes me nervous. This service is not made for the serious photographer who is worried about file management and resolution, but for the average iPhone user who doesn’t have the same needs as I do. Apple can change how it operates in the next update and I could have a new issue I need to resolve, without even knowing. No thanks.

Photo Transfer Apps

I tried multiple apps and they all work pretty much the same: Download and open the app on both devices, select the image(s) to transfer from an iPhone thumbnail, select the device to send it to, and then wait. There are some problems with this method:

Choosing images to transfer based on thumbnails doesn’t work well. As we’ve already established, if the iPhone screen is too small to see fine detail and subtle differences in focus, a thumbnail is not going to work either. You end up needing to transfer more images to the iPad in order to review and decide the best ones there.

The apps limit you on the number of images you can transfer at one time. They must assume you are only transferring one or two, because they all limit the number you can transfer at a time and require you to select them one-by-one. I can’t remember exactly how many the apps limited me to, but I was finding this an issue for me. I had to do a repetitive batch transfer process to get the images over the iPad for review, which took a while.

Once I selected a group of photos, depending on the app they would actually transfer over in reverse order. And since I had to transfer in batches, that was a double-whammy to my desire to keep things in chronological order.

The apps would say they worked with WiFi or Bluetooth, but connection was spotty with one or both depending on the app. Pairing devices was a challenge in all of the apps I tried. When it did finally work, transfer was slooooowwww and you had to make sure your device didn’t go into sleep mode, or you needed to start the transfer process again.

Once I worked out the Dropbox transfer method, and later the AirDrop method, my life got much, much easier. I haven’t even explored this topic in a couple of years, everything has worked so well.

I hope this helps you manage your files between devices! Let me know your thoughts in the comments. The next File Management tutorial will cover quickly and easily transferring image files from your devices to your computer. Stay tuned!